Everything Changes
by CountryGirl8
Summary: SEQUEL TO REUNION Paige and Jeff tied the knot, and are very happy together, but can you say the same for Candice and Matt? Candice was offered an oppurtunity of her dreams, but will it destroy things between her and Matt?
1. Flashback

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone except the OC's. I also don't own the songs or lyrics used in this fic.**_

**Hey ya'll, back with the sequel :-). The ideas started flowing so I figured I'd go ahead and start typing. Hope you enjoy the first chapter :-).**

Chapter 1- Flashback

Candice was walking down the street, tears flowing from her eyes. She wasn't sure what happened, what went wrong, and how they got to this point. She sat down on a bench outside of a shopping store. She sat there thinking back at Paige's and Jeff's wedding. She just needed to get him off of her mind.

_**Flashback**_

_"Paige it's time." Candice said to her best friend._

_"Oh my gosh my stomach should win a medal or something for as many flips as it's making." Paige said while doing a final look over in the mirror._

_Candice laughed a little. "Do you love him?"_

_"Of course I do." _

_"Then everything will be just fine."_

_"Thank you for everything. For being my bestest friend, for being my maid of honor, and most importantly for introducing me and Jeff."_

_"No thank you." Candice said. "Alright, now we better get a move on." Candice said while dragging her friend out._

_Candice and Paige walked into a room where Matt was standing. "You ready?" Matt asked Candice._

_"Yeah." she replied._

_Matt escorted Candice down the aisle. When they reached the end, they took their places. When the piano began to play 'Here Comes The Bride' everyone stood up and turned their heads back to watch Paige. Everyone was in awe. Jeff couldn't stop smiling. He was about to get married to the woman he loved so much. When Paige reached the end of the aisle Jeff reached out and took his bride by the hand. _

_"We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. If anyone here objects speak now or forever hold your peace." the preacher started._

_"And if anyone here wants to object they're gonna have to go through me first." Jeff joked. _

_Everyone laughed. _

_"Alright. We shall move forward." the preacher said. "Jeff and Paige have written their own vows, and may now exchange them."_

_Jeff pulled out a piece of paper. "Paige, the moment Candice introduced us I felt a connection. And the more I spent time with you, the more I fell in love with you. We've had our ups and downs, but what relationship hasn't. Everytime I see you, I get butterflies, just like on the very first day I met you. I can't imagine my life without you in it. Whenever we're together I know I am the luckiest man in the world to be blessed with a woman like you. And I promise this to you, that I will love and cherish you forever." he said._

_Paige smiled at him. "Jeff, the first time you smiled at me, my heart just melted. And when you finally asked me to go out with you I felt like a million bucks. The more we saw each other, the happier I was. And the day you asked me to marry you, I was probably the happiest girl in the world. When I'm with you, all my troubles are out the window. I feel safe and protected from all harm. Whenever I am upset, your always there to cheer me up. I know your the one for me. Your the other half that makes me whole. And I will always love and cherish you." Paige said with tears in her eye. Jeff squeezed her hand and smiled. _

_"Rings please." the preacher said._

_Matt reached in in pocket, pulled out a ring, and handed it to Jeff._

_"Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."_

_"With this ring I thee wed." Jeff said as he slid the ring on Paige's finger._

_Candice handed Paige a ring. "Repeat after me, With this ring I thee wed." _

_"With this ring, I thee wed." Paige said as she slid the ring on Jeff's finger._

_"I now pronounce you, man and wife." the preacher said. "You may kiss your bride." _

_Jeff smiled and flipped Paige's veil over. He then pulled her into a kiss. The entire crowd broke out into cheers and applauses. They broke apart and the preacher announced them as Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery Hardy._

_**End Flashback**_

Candice's thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing. She looked down and saw it was Matt. She just shook her head and went back to her thoughts.

_**Flashback**_

_The song Amazed by Lonestar began to play and Jeff led Paige out to the floor for their first dance._

_"Every time our eyes meet  
This feeling inside me  
Is almost more than I can take  
Baby when you touch me  
I can feel how much you love me  
And it just blows me away  
I've never been this close to anyone or anything  
I can hear your thoughts  
I can see your dreams_

I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you

The smell of your skin  
The taste of your kiss  
The way you whisper in the dark  
Your hair all around me  
Baby you surround me  
You touch every place in my heart  
Oh it feels like the first time every time  
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes

I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you

Every little thing that you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Oh, every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you."

_After the song finished, everyone got out on the dance floor with them. They were all having a good time. They did cake, played games, danced more. Some of Jeff's friends and Jeff pretended they were wrestling. Everyone was happy. When Paige tossed her boquet, Candice caught it. _

_**End Flashback**_

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter :-)!! I should have the next chapter up very soon.**


	2. The Talk With An Animal

**Finally got around to updating, lol. If you go to my profile there's two youtube links, those are links to videos I made for this fic. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

Chapter 2- The Talk With An Animal

Candice sat there on the bench, staring out at the world. She kept looking down at her phone, reading where it said 4 missed calls. She decided to see who they were from although she had a feeling she knew they were from Matt. To her surprise only two were from Matt, one from Jeff, and one from Paige. She decided to call Paige and Jeff's house to let them know she was alright. The phone only rang once before there was an answer.

"Candi where the heck are you?!" Jeff asked her.

"Sitting on a bench in town." she replied.

"You know that's dangerous, cause it's like almost 1 o'clock in the morning."

"I know that Jeff. I honestly don't care anymore."

He paused for a second. It then hit him that they had another fight.

"Ya'll had another fight didn't you?" Jeff asked. "Do you want.."

"Nope." Candice said cutting him off. "Look Jeff I'm fine, I'll head back to the hotel right now."

"Candice, why don't you come cack to Cameron and take a break." Jeff suggested.

"This is exactly what me and Matt are fighting about. My career just took off. There's no time for breaks."

"Well what about when the baby is born?"

"Of course I'll be there for that."

"Alright. Well I'm not about to start arguing with you, so get back to your hotel, get some rest, and I'll talk to you later."

"Ok bye."

"Love you."

"Love you too. Tell Paige I said hi and love her too. Oh and ask if she could send some pics."

"Will do, talk to you later Candi."

After they hung up a man walked up to her.

"Candice Walker right?" the guy asked.

She looked up and noticed the man right away. "Hey Dave!" she said standing up to give him a hug.

"How are you? You look great!" he said as they both sat back down.

"I am doing great! Well career wise. Not so great relationship wise."

"You and Matt having problems?" he asked.

"Well, he thinks I am wearing myself out, but I'm not. He keeps insisting I take a break before I send myself into overdrive."

"Oh I see. But you know he's right. You have to know when to take it easy. When I first started wrestling, all of it was so overwhelming. I trained day and night, not eating properly, not sleeping as much as I needed to. Before I knew it I was in the hospital because of it."

"Well your case is different, you were wrestling, all I'm doing is _singing_."

"Singing can take a lot out of you. Not that I sing or anything." He said laughing a little.

Candice sat there for a minute. "I can't believe I told him he wasn't being supportive. There were so many people telling me not to do it because I wouldn't make it, but Matt was always in my corner cheering me on."

"Maybe it's time you tag out." the animal said to her.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I don't know, it sounded good when I said it in my head." he said laughing.

Candice couldn't help but laugh too.

"I guess what I'm saying is, don't be afraid to tag your partner in so you can rest a little." he said seriously.

"I get it now." she said smiling.

"Thank you, cause I'm not sure I would've been able to re-explain it." he joked.

"Well Dave Batista, I think I'm gonna head to my hotel and call Matt."

"Good. I'm glad I did my good deed for the day."

"See you around. Hope you get to feelin better so you can get back to your wrestling."

"Nah I'm in no hurry. When Orton punted my head, that's when I tagged out. So right now I'm resting."

Candice laughed. "Your funny."

"I know." he smirked. "But don't get me wrong, this animal is getting ready to tag back in. And when he does... the animal will be released."

Candice laughed again. "I got to go. Thanks Dave."

"No problem kid."

When Candice got back to her hotel room she dialed Matt's number. When a woman answered, her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. She felt like she was going to get sick.


	3. The Misunderstanding

**Enjoy :)**

Chapter 3- The Misunderstanding

"Who is this?" Candice said trying to fight back the tears.

"Sabrina, who is this?"

"Matt's girlfriend." Candice said getting angry now.

"Ok, that still doesn't answer my question, who are you? I don't know any Matt."

"Riiight, that's what they all say," Candice said getting even more angry.

"Look here I have no idea who you or Matt are, so I'm guessing you got the wrong number." the woman said, obiviously getting irritated. The woman hung up on her.

Candice looked down at her phone and realized she _did _dial the wrong number. She felt relief. The pressed 2 on her speed dial so she knew for sure it would be Matt. When he answered she was even more relieved. Although now she had begun to wonder if he would actually cheat on her.

"Candi?" he asked.

"Hi." she said quietly.

There was a long silence.

"What's happening to us?" Matt finally asked.

"I don't know. Earlier, I tried calling you and a woman answered. Turned out I accidently dialed the wrong number. But for a second there..." Candice said not wanting to finish her sentence.

"You thought I'd cheat on you?!" Matt asked. "Why on earth would you think that?!"

"I.. I don't know. I didn't want to think that, but the thought of it burned into my brain."

"Candice I love you so much. I could never do that to you. But you don't know how bad it hurts now that the truth has come out."

"What truth?"

"The truth that you don't trust me. Because if you did trust me you would've never thought that."

"A woman answered the phone for crying out loud!!"

"But it was the wrong number."

"If you called me, and a guy answered the phone, what would you think??"

"Good point. But how did you feel after you realized it was the wrong number?"

Candice was quiet. She didn't want to say the thought of him _actually _cheating her crossed her mind.

"That's what I thought." he said.

_Crap the silence was almost worst than actually telling him._ she thought to herself.

"Candice I do love you." she said.

"I know you do. And I love you too, but Matt I don't know how much more I can take." she said swallowing the lump in her throat.

"This isn't you. What has happened to the Candice I knew and loved?! The Candice I knew wouldn't be saying these things."

"What is that supposed to mean?!?!" she yelled back at him.

"It means ever since you left, you changed!"

"That is not true!" she said. "Your the one who is changed! You always supported me and then when I finally acheive my dreams you turn your back on me! I'm done Matt! I'm done with you, I'm done with Cameron, I'm DONE! I can't take it anymore!!" she screamed.

Matt felt the tears pouring down his cheek. The faster they poured down, the more it burned. "You don't mean that."

"Yes I do Matt. We're through. We were through a long time ago, but we never wanted to admit it. Look I have to go. Bye Matt."

"Candice!" Matt yelled into the phone through his tears. It was too late though, she hung up.

**Sorry it is a shorter chapter. Hope to have the next one up soon.**


	4. The Breakup

**Thanks for the reviews :D! **

Chapter 4- The Breakup

_Matt's POV_

After that phone call, I just sat there in shock. I didn't want to believe that it just happened. I did the first thing I could think of. I called Jeff and told him I was coming. When I got to his house he let me in and I flopped down on his couch.

"What happened man?" Jeff asked.

"I don't know. One minute she's talking about how she accidently dialed the wrong number and thought I was cheating on her, then the next thing I know she is saying I changed and broke up with me."

"Dude maybe she just needs a break. Maybe ya'll both need a break."

"Jeff, I'm tired of it. It seems like every girl I date, _this_ ends up happening. I thought Candice was different."

"She is different."

"I just don't understand it. And I'm not sure if I can handle this right now. Now it scares the crap out of me because we were best friends."

"She'll come around Matt. You just got to be patient."

"Her her her. It is all about _her._ When is it going to be about me? Ever since she got that job it's been Candice this, Candice that. Candice Candice Candice."

Jeff chuckled a little.

"What?" an irratated Matt asked.

"You sound jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" Matt yelled.

"Shhh! Paige is resting."

"Sorry. But I'm not jealous."

"Matt, how would you feel if Candi pressured you into giving up wrestling for her?"

"I would do it."

"Then do it. Tell Vince you want to quit so you can go fix things between ya'll."

Matt sat there quietly for a second.

Jeff pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Matt asked.

"Vince."

"Wait!" Matt said. "I get your point."

Jeff smiled. "Thought so."

Just about that time they heard a loud crashing sound come from upstairs.

"Paige?!" Jeff yelled as the two men went running up there. Jeff opened their bedroom door lying on the floor. "Paige!" He screamed as he fell to his knees and checked for a pulse. Matt pulled out his phone and dialed 911. "Paige can you hear me?" Jeff kept asking her. "Hang in there hun, your going to be alright." he kept saying too.

"Ambulance is on their way." Matt said looking down at his sister-in-law and brother.

Jeff was crying while holding onto his pregnant wife's hand. "God please let her be ok."

The ambulance had finally gotten there and took Paige to the hospital. Jeff rode with them and Matt followed behind. He pulled out and dialed Candice's number. Of course she didn't answer.

"Candi, you need to get here now! Paige just collapsed and we're on our way to the hospital." Matt said into her voicemail and hung up.

When he got there he saw Jeff pacing in the waiting room. Jeff looked up and saw Matt and ran over to them.

"Matt they won't let me go back there with her and they're not telling me what's going on!" Jeff said.

"Just calm down a second."

"How the heck can I be calm?! My wife and child are back there and they aren't telling me what's wrong!"

Matt pulled his brother into a hug. "Just hang on a sec let me go ask that nurse."

Matt left his brother and walked to the nurses station. "Excuse me." he said leaning on the front desk. The nurse continued talking on the phone. "Excuse me!" Matt said a little louder.

The nurse put the phone on her shoulder. "Can I help you?"

"My pregnant sister-in-law was brought here and her husband would like to see her or told how she and the baby are doing."

"You'll have to be patient. The doctor will be out shortly."

Matt rolled his eyes and walked back to Jeff. They sat down in a chair waiting for the doctor.

_Candice's POV_

I heard a knock on the door. I looked out the peephole and saw it was my manager.

"Hey Brit, what's up?" I asked her as I let her in.

"I know you just got settled, but do you think you could handle a few more songs? The last person that was booked to sing at the bar in the hotel canceled and they're panicking cause they need someone to sing."

"Yeah I'll do it. Anything to get my mind away from where it is right now."

"Great!" Brittany said while grabbing Candice by the arm and pulling her down the hallway.

Candice got up on the stage and looked out at the crowd. "How ya'll doing tonight?" she asked the crowd. There was a loud cheer. "The band that was supposed to be here cancelled so ya'll are stuck with a little ol' me. Now I'm gonna do something different and I'm going to take requests from ya'll. I'll let you know if I could do it or not." she said to them. "Alright... how bout you over there with the pink shirt."

"Um, can you do It Starts With Goodbye by Carrie Underwood?" the girl asked.

Candice swallowed a little. "Yes I can." she said giving a forced smile. Candice grabbed her guitar and started to play.

"I was sitting on my doorstep,  
I hung up the phone and it fell out of my hand,  
But I knew I had to do it,  
And he wouldn't understand,  
So hard to see myself without him,  
I felt a piece of my heart break,  
But when you're standing at a crossroad,  
There's a choice you gotta make.

I guess it's gonna have to hurt,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
I guess it's gonna break me down,  
Like falling when you try to fly,  
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye.

I know there's a blue horizon,  
Somewhere up ahead, just waiting for me,  
Getting there means leaving things behind,  
Sometimes life's so bitter sweet.

I guess it's gonna have to hurt,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
I guess it's gonna break me down,  
Like falling when you try to fly,  
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye.

Time, time heals,  
The wounds that you feel,  
Somehow, right now.

I guess it's gonna have to hurt,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
I guess it's gonna break me down,  
Like falling when you try to fly,  
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
Starts with goodbye,  
The only way you try to find,  
Moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye,  
Na na na na na na na."

When Candice finished singing it took all the strength she had to smile and hold back the tears. She kept asking herself why that person had to request that song. I kept smiling and asked for more requests. After another two hours of singing, I finally called it a night. I was walking back to my hotel room when I noticed I had one missed call. I sighed when I saw it was from Matt. Part of me just wanted to throw the phone out the window, but instead I decided to see what he said. My mouth dropped to the floor when I heard the voicemail. I tossed my phone on the bed while I grabbed my suitcase and started throwing things in there. After I got everything packed I took off to the airport.


	5. Seeing You Again

**Sorry for the slow update. I went out of town to see Smackdown and had a great time! I'm trying to update as much as I can cause tomorrow I'm getting wisdom teeth taken out... funnnn. Hope you enjoy this :)**

Chapter 5- Seeing You Again

After Candice landed back in Raleigh she went to the garage to get her car. As she was driving back to Cameron, she was praying her friend and her baby was alright. She was nervous about seeing Matt, but she wasn't going to start anything with him to upset Paige. Candice reached into the glove compartment and pulled out caffiene pills. She had been up for close to 24 hours. She swallowed them down with some water she got at the airport. The hour drive from Raleigh to Cameron slowly passed, but she finally made it to the hospital. She ran inside to the ER waiting area. She spotted Matt asleep in his chair. She felt her stomach turning with knots.

"Matt." she said real low.

Matt slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly at Candice. He wasn't too sure if he was dreaming or if she was actually standing there. "Candice?" he asked.

"How's Paige and the baby?" Candice asked.

"The doctor came out a little while ago. Jeff went back there. They said her blood pressure got too high. The baby and Paige will be ok as long as she keeps it down. So after she leaves here she'll be on bed rest."

"Oh. I'm glad they're going to be ok." Candice said relieved.

"Me too. Jeff was terrified."

"I feel bad that I wasn't here sooner."

"Candice all that matters is that your here. Paige is going to be glad to see you."

She smiled.

"How much sleep have you had?" Matt asked her, noticing the dark circles under her eyes.

"I'm running on caffiene. I'm reaching 25 hours of no sleep."

"Candice Marie Walker!"

"What?!"

"That's dangerous. Why don't you head back to your house to get some sleep?"

"No. I can't leave."

Matt just stared at her.

"What?" Candice asked, getting annoyed at him staring.

"I'm worried about you."

"You don't have to be anymore."

"Candice, why are you doing this?"

Candice stared at the wall. "I'm weighing you down Matt. I feel like you deserve better than me."

Matt looked down at his feet. "Candi, you are the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Your just saying that."

"No I'm not. I love you."

Just after he said that Jeff walked over to them. "Candi!" he said leaning over and hugging her. She returned the hug.

"How is she?" Candice asked.

"She wants out of here."

"Well hospitals are no fun."

"Ya'll two can come back. She'll be thrilled to see you Candice."

The three of them walked back to Paige's room. When Paige saw Candice she wanted to jump out of the bed, but Jeff stopped her. "Candice!! Your back!!" Paige yelled as she hugged her friend.

"Yeap for a little while. I talked Brittany into letting me have a week off."

"You need more than a week. You look worn out Candi."

"I'm just a little tired."

"A little?" Matt mumbled.

Candice heard and shot Matt a glare.

"When was the last time you had sleep?" Paige asked her.

"I was asleep when Matt called me."

"Your lying. Look I have raised blood pressure and you lying to me doesn't help me."

"Ok ok ok. 25 hours ago." she said, mumbling the last part.

"25 hours?!"

"Paige, hun, take it easy." Jeff said placing his hand on hers.

Paige took a deep breath. "Candi, you better get your butt home and get some rest. Matt you drive her. I don't need her going and having a wreck."

Candice didn't know if she knew about them breaking up, but she wasn't about to bring it up or argue with her. "Okay. Paige, take it easy. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Alright."

Candice hugged her and then followed Matt out. When they got in the car and started driving to her house, the silence had been broken when Matt spoke up. "Can..." he started to say but noticed she had fallen asleep. He watched her for a second and then looked back at the road. He just kept thinking of how much he loved her.

_Candice's POV_

All I could do was pretend like I was sleeping, that way I wouldn't have to talk. I know I can't avoid it forever, but I'm just going to have to try. I still love him, but I don't want to hurt him more than I already have. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and just closed my eyes.


	6. More Bad News

**Thanks for all the reviews!!! I really do appreciate them :D!**

Chapter 6- More Bad News

Candice slowly opened her eyes. She noticed she was in her house in Cameron. "Man I have a killer headache." she said to herself as she sat up. She leaned over and got the bottle of Advil out of her nightstand. She got up and walked into the kitchen and noticed Matt sleeping on the couch. "Crap!" she thought to herself. She tried to quietly tiptoe out of the kitchen, but Matt woke up.

"Your up." he said as he let out a yawn.

"Yeap." she said.

"Last night I got a call from Jeff. He said they are letting Paige go home today."

"That's good news!" Candice said as she fixed a pot of coffee.

"It is. Paige wants you to stay with them for the week your off because she said she could always use your help."

"Of course. Do you want some coffee?"

"Sure, thanks." he said.

She poured him a cup and sat on the chair across from the couch. "Why'd you stay here last night?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Candice looked down at her coffee.

"If you want to go ahead and pack some clothes and get a shower I'll drive you back to the hospital to get your car."

"Ok." she said and got up and walked to the bathroom.

_Jeff and Paige's House_

"You alright?" Jeff asked Paige as he helped her into their bed.

"Yes I'm fine."

"I just called Matt, he said that Candice agreed to staying with you."

"That's great! I miss her so much."

"I know you do."

"What was with all the awkward moments between her and Matt?"

"Paige, there's something you need to know."

"What?"

"Don't freak out on me, but Candice and Matt, they broke up."

"They what?!?!"

"Calm down!"

Paige took a deep breath. "I need Matt to stay here with me too. I mean, when you are running errands for me, I'll need some more muscle."

Jeff smiled a little. "You read my mind."

Paige smiled and leaned forward to kiss her husband.

"You see baby girl, your mama is a mind reader." Jeff said as he baby talked to Paige's belly.

Paige laughed and looked down at her belly. "You see baby _boy _your daddy is a crazy crazy man."

"I am not! And what makes you think it's a boy?"

"What makes you think it's a girl?"

Jeff laughed a little. "Look at us."

"I know. Who would've thought we'd be baby talking a baby still in the belly, that is ours."

"Yeap. Well either a boy or a girl, I still love him/her and their mother more than the whole world."

Paige smiled. "Your going to be a great father."

"And your going to be a great mother."

Just about that time the doorbell rang. "I guess that's them." Paige said.

"Guess so. You get some rest." Jeff said as he kissed Paige's forehead and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

He opened the door and to his surprise Candice's brother was standing there. "David, what are you doing here?"

"Is Candice here?" he asked.

"No but she will be shortly."

"I need to tell her something. It's about mom."

"Come in." Jeff said as he stepped aside to let him in. "Is everything alright?" Jeff asked.

Just after he asked that Candice and Matt walked in. "Man that wind is blowing like cra... David?" Candice said. She ran up to her brother and threw her arms around his neck. "I've missed you, mom, and dad so much!" she said as she stepped back.

"Candice, mama passed away this morning." David said as a few tears rolled down his cheek.

"Wh..what? No your lying. I talked to her yesterday, she was fine."

"Dad went in there to tell her he was heading off to work, when she wouldn't wake up he knew something was wrong. He called 911 and they said she passed away in her sleep."

"NO! YOUR LYING!" Candice screamed as she ran outside. Just before she got into the car she felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew who it was and just collapsed into his arms and began crying. "Sh... she... can't leave me. I... I never go..got to tell ... her how mu...much I love her."

"She knows Candice. She loved you so much." Matt said as he held her. "Let's go back in." he said as he helped her walk back to the house.


	7. Love

**Thanks for all the reviews!!!!!**

Chapter 7- Love

Candice was sitting in the living room of her parents house. They had just got back from the funeral. She felt someone sit down beside her and looked over and saw Paige.

"How are you feeling?" Candice asked.

"I'm ok. How are you doing?"

"Ok I guess. I just can't believe she's gone." Candice replied.

"I know. It seems just like yesterday when we'd come back here after school and she'd have us a snack ready, then the three of us would just sit and talk for hours."

Candice smiled. "Yeah."

"We could go to her for anything."

"Yeah. The three of us were close. She always told people she had two daughters."

"She was my second mom. I love her so much and I'm going to miss her." Paige said.

"I'm going to miss her too."

"We're all going to miss her." a voice behind them said.

Candice and Paige turned around and saw Susan standing there. Candice stood up and gave Susan a hug. "It's been too long."

"Yes it has." Susan said as she pulled away. She leaned over and gave Paige a hug too. "You and the baby been doing ok?" Susan asked Paige.

"Yes ma'am. We gave Jeff a brief scare, but we're ok."

"Well no more scares. Well I hate to cut this short but I'm going to try and find Kevin. I'll stop by to see you two later." Susan said and left.

"You want to go?" Paige asked Candice.

"It's up to you."

"Let's go." she said.

Candice helped Paige up and went to find Matt and Jeff. The four left and headed back to Jeff and Paige's house.

_2 weeks later_

Candice had stayed a week longer, since everything that had happened. But it was now time for her to head back on the road. Candice put the last of her bags in her car and went back inside.

"You sure you can't stay longer?" Paige asked.

"I wish I could but Britney said I need to get back to singing."

"Well she doesn't control your life."

"I know, but, I just... I just need to...."

"Get away from Matt?" Paige asked.

"Yes. No. Oh I don't know. I am so confused right now. Part of me loves him, but the other part knows he deserves better than me."

Paige didn't know what else to say. The whole week her and Jeff tried everything they could do. "Alright. Well have a safe flight. Where are you going again?"

"Tonight I'm flying to Dallas. I'll spend three nights there, then I'll fly into Chicago spend three nights there as well. After that I'll call you to let you know where else from there. I need you to keep me posted and the first second you think your going into labor, you call me and I'll be here."

Paige laughed a little. "Will do." Paige and Candice hugged and Candice got in the car to leave. Jeff and Matt had left earlier to a house show, so she was slightly relieved she didn't have to get into it with Matt.

On the plane Candice put her headphones to her ipod in her ears. The past two weeks played over and over in her head. She tried to block everything out, but couldn't. She looked out the airplane window as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Mom why did you have to go so soon? I need you right now." she said as she looked out the window.

_A couple of hours later_

Candice finally made it to Dallas, she got off the plane, signed some autographs and headed back to the hotel. As soon as she walked in Britney was right there waiting for her.

"Your back!" Britney said as soon as she walked through the doors.

"Yeap." Candice said slowly nodding her head

"Are you up for singing tonight?" Britney asked.

Candice shot her a death glare. "You said I wouldn't have to sing til tomorrow. Brit I need rest."

"It's here in the hotel and all they want is one song. Just one song."

Candice rolled her eyes. "Fine." she said and stormed off to her room. She collapsed onto her bed and started crying. "_What am I doing?" _she thought to herself. She sat up, wiped the tears of her face, changed and got ready to go sing. After she was ready, she met Britney in the lobby of the hotel.

"Thank you for doing this. I want you to sing Valentine since Valentine's Day is coming up."

"Whatever." Candice said and threw her arms up. She followed Britney to the room she was singing in. Candice grabbed her guitar and walked out on the stage they had set up. She looked up at all of the lights that were beaming on her and she squinted her eyes, she had a bad headache. "I'm going to be singing a Valentine song, so grab your loved one and feel free to drag them out on the floor, dance with them, and tell them how much you love them." she said and started playing guitar. She began to get dizzy.

"If there were no words  
no way to speak  
i would still hear you  
if there were no tears  
no way to feel inside  
i'd still feel for you.." she began to sing. Her head was now to the point she thought it was going to spin off her head.

"and even if the sun refused to shine  
even if romance ran out of rhyme  
you wuld still have my heart until the end of time  
you're all i need, my love, my Val..." Candice stopped playing and singing. She tried to walk away, but was too dizzy. She collapsed on the stage.

Britney quickly ran out there. "Candice?" she asked shaking her body. "Brad over here now!" Britney yelled at this man. He came over and picked Candice up and the three disappeared. They took Candice to her room and layed her on the bed. They called Candice'e doctor that traveled with them.

"Stress. I could've told you that the second she collapsed on stage." the doctor said after looking over her.

"Is she going to be fine?" Britney asked.

"Yes, but next time she could wind up being so stressed she'll have a heartattack! Why on this earth would you make her get up there and sing just after she just lost her mom. I know what it is, your just selfish. Call me if there's any sign of changes for the worse." the doctor said and left.

A couple of hours passed and Candice woke up. "What happened?" she asked as she slowly sat up.

"You passed out."

"Oh."

"Are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah. Better than before."

"That's great! Do you think you'll be able to sing tomorrow?"

Candice looked at Britney. "Excuse me?!"

"I need to know."

"If you want someone to sing so freakin badly, you get up there and sing. I'll be on the flight to Chicago. I need a day or two to rest. I don't want to be known as the singer who sings half of her song and then collapses on the stage. Now get out!" Candice yelled. Britney did as Candice asked, and left. Candice pulled out her laptop and decided to see where Matt was going to be. When she saw where, she felt a smile come across her face. They were both going to be in Chicago.


End file.
